Letter: Mark Kirk: Wrong for Illinois, wrong for America

Feb. 2 is an important day in Illinois politics. The impending primary elections are a chance for Illinoisans to do something right and try to prevent another horrible senator from being sent to Washington in our name.

Considering we’re the state responsible for Carol Mosley Braun, Dick Durbin and Barack Obama going to D.C., I’d say we have some significant penance to pay to the country.

We have a chance during primary season to take the first step toward fixing that problem by voting a real conservative as our Republican nominee. This is a contest between squishy political opportunist Mark Kirk and some lesser-known candidates, such as conservative businessman Patrick Hughes.

The political establishment will tell you the safe thing to do is pick Mark Kirk as the Republican nominee, because he has â€œthe best chance to win.â€ We’ve been fed this line for years; vote for the moderate, as long as he has an â€œRâ€ next to his name, because they have a better chance to win.

That’s what they said about presidential nominee John McCain. A year and a half later, we’ve lost millions of jobs and our national debt is piling up faster than a caviar bill at a Democrat fundraising party, because we have a radical president who is taking the country in a direction that anyone who understands it is completely against.

Why? Because we sacrificed convictions for political expediency and chose McCain as our nominee, as he had â€œthe best chance to win.â€ I voted for someone else in the primary, in fact, but Illinois did overwhelmingly vote for McCain. Obviously, he lost handily to the Obama Machine.

Mark Kirk is no conservative and should be ashamed to claim that title; he does not deserve our vote. Let me give you a few examples of Kirk’s travesties as a representative in Congress.

Kirk’s pro-life credentials are non-existent. He has a lifetime rating of 100 percent from NARAL, a radical pro-abortion organization. Kirk shares this rating with other prime examples of liberal politicians, including Nancy Pelosi, Hillary Clinton and, yes, Barack Obama. To give you some comparison, liberal Harry Reid, the Democrat Senate majority leader, is more pro-life than Mark Kirk. Kirk has twice voted â€œnoâ€ on making it a crime to harm an unborn child during another crime and voted no on restricting interstate transport of minors to get abortions.

When it comes to the economy, Kirk is similarly wrong with his votes. He voted to give more money to Obama’s useless stimulus package and the equally ineffective Cash for Clunkers program. He also was one of just eight Republicans to vote for the economyâ€”destroying Cap and Trade bill, which will levy unprecedented taxes on businesses and massacre jobs, especially in manufacturing and agricultural industries that are the lifeblood of our state.

Kirk is also radically anti-second Amendment, proving repeatedly that he does not have any respect for gun owners or their rights. Kirk wants trigger locks and to enforce the restrictive Brady Bill, and the National Rifle Association gives him a lifetime rating of D, indicating a very anti-gun voting record. With gun control likely on the horizon for the Democrats in Washington (please Google â€œnew gun billâ€ and read about H.R. 45), we need a conservative who will stand up for our rights.

On social issues, Kirk once again sides with Democrats. He voted with Democrats to override President Bush’s vetoes of the SCHIP program and an expansion to Medicare (both expansions of government control of healthcare and severely fiscally irresponsible bills). He also is a member of the global warming alarmist community and has voted repeatedly against bills that would improve our energy independence, including the Bush/Cheney energy policies and voting against drilling in ANWR. He also has stated his belief in supporting the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (which is complicated but suffice it to say, the UN is running it so it’s very bad for the USA).

Kirk is out of touch with Illinois and out of touch with Republicans. He does not understand who we are or what we need. His representation of the wishes of the 10th Congressional District has been bad enough; let’s not make the mistake of giving him a chance to represent the whole state.

We need to stop listening to the pundits who tell us certain races aren’t winnable. Patrick Hughes can absolutely beat whatever Democrat nominee is put forward. As I write this, the Democrats are still reeling from the defeat they suffered in the Massachusetts special election for Teddy Kennedy’s old seat, which was won in a stunning upset by Republican Scott Brown last week. If Massachusetts, the bluest of the blue states, can elect a conservative Republican, so can we.

When you vote for a Representative or a Senator, you expect them to carry out your wishes. Nothing is worse than watching someone you voted for doing the exact opposite of what you want to see them do.

That’s the problem with Kirk. He’ll take your vote, sure, but he’s not listening to you. He’s going to do whatever is politically expedient, because he’ll know he doesn’t have to answer for anything for six years.

We need principled leadership in Washington, leadership that will stand up to the Democrats’ radical agenda and not be another pawn in Harry Reid’s army. I want a Senator I can count on.

I cannot count on Mark Kirk, and neither should you. Please vote Patrick Hughes on Feb. 2. Show America Illinois still has some dignity; if Massachusetts can do it, we can do it.